Men's Basketball Sets Conference Wins Record On Senior Day

MILWAUKEE (WLCSports.com) – The Wisconsin Lutheran College men's basketball team led wire-to-wire for a 77-68 Winterfest and Senior Day win over Concordia Chicago on Saturday afternoon inside the Recreation Complex. The Warriors improved to 11-1 at home and a perfect 10-0 in conference games on their homecourt this season.

• Final Score: Wisconsin Lutheran 77, Concordia Chicago 68
• Records: Wisconsin Lutheran (17-4, 14-2 NACC), Concordia Chicago (7-14, 6-10 NACC)
• Location: Recreation Complex, Milwaukee, Wis.

• Senior Andrew Bruggink (Brookfield, Wis.) opened the scoring with a three-point make in transition from the wing off a pass from senior Colin Biesterfeld (West Bend, Wis.). A pair of midrange jumpers and a layup by junior Matty Farner (Muskego, Wis.) gave the Warriors a 9-4 lead just over three minutes into the first half.
• With a two-point lead midway through the first, Wisconsin Lutheran used an 11-0 run to extend its lead up to 24-11. WLC connected on a trio of makes from deep, with Bruggink, Colin Biesterfeld, and junior Randy Johnson Jr. (Milwaukee, Wis.) each finding the bottom of the net.
• The Cougars brought the gap to eight with 7:05 remaining but a layup from Farner and a three from Colin Biesterfeld pushed the lead back to 13.
• In the final minutes of the first half, the Warriors converted four free throw attempts and a fast break layup from Johnson Jr. maintained the 13-point advantage as the hosts led 38-25 at halftime.
• Sophomore Alex VanCrete (Green Lake, Wis.) scored the first bucket of the second half and extended WLC's lead to a game-high 15 points at 40-25. The Cougars responded with five consecutive points a couple minutes later to cut the lead down to eight before sophomore Zach Zuleger (West Bend, Wis.) made a hook shot in the lane.
• With 12:20 left in the second half, senior Andrew Wojcik (Brookfield, Wis.) drained a three from the corner to extend the lead back to 14. A minute and a half later, another three from Wojcik forced a Cougars timeout. A third make from deep by Wojcik with 8:08 remaining kept the Warriors up 15 points at 61-46.
• Concordia Chicago rallied and trailed by just seven at 71-64 with 1:55 left to play but five makes from the free throw line by Bruggink in the closing minutes were able to close out the Cougars for the 77-68 win.

• Bruggink paced the team with 22 points while Wojcik and Zuleger rounded out the Warriors in double figures with 11 and 10, respectively. Zuleger finished a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor.
• Farner recorded a game-high 10 rebounds while Bruggink paced the Green and White with six assists.
• Wisconsin Lutheran shot 38.5 percent (25-of-65) from the field and 31 percent (9-of-29) from deep. WLC found success at the charity stripe, shooting 90.0 percent (18-of-20).
• The Warriors defense turned 13 Cougars turnovers into 22 points and also recorded a season-high six blocks.
• The 17 wins for the Warriors are the most since the 2007-2008 season and the 14 wins in conference are a new program record. WLC moved to 11-1 at home and a perfect 10-0 inside the Recreation Complex against NACC opponents.

• Raushaun Amos scored a game-high 25 points with seven makes coming from behind the arc. Izak Ruddell added 13 and Landen Gladney had 12 for the Cougars. Gladney led the team with nine rebounds, while Amos had a team-best five assists.
• Concordia Chicago shot 41.2 percent (28-of-68) from the floor and 34.5 percent (10-of-29) from three.

• The Warriors close out their regular season with four road games starting with a trip to Concordia Wisconsin (13-8, 12-4 NACC) on Wednesday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Live stats and video will be available on WLCSports.com.